San Francisco Snow
by shanejayell
Summary: Set post 'Homecoming' Vice-Admiral Janeway returns to old haunts and has a unexpected encounter. Mild femslash.


Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from Star Trek Voyager, I'm just borrowing them for awhile. This is also a divergence from Voyager continuity, set after the TV series ends and is not in line with the novels.

Star Trek Voyager: San Francisco Snow

Vice-Admiral Kathryn Janeway paused as she looked out from the temporary quarters at Starfleet Headquarters at the evening's cloudy skies. Her red-brown hair flowed over her shoulders as she looked out as the snow began to fall, a faint smile on her face. The famous city still bore some scars from the Breen's attack during the Dominion War, but they were few and far between, eliminated by human efforts lead by the Starfleet Corps of Engineers.

The first snow had begun to dust the ground white and Kathryn smiled, drinking her coffee thoughtfully. Part of her wanted to call someone, to go out and enjoy the snow but honestly there were few people she could do that with right now. A seven year absence cut a very big hole in one's life, even with the sort of connections a Starfleet officer developed.

'I could try calling Phobie or Mom,' Kathryn admitted, but part of her resisted that. It felt uncomfortably like imposing on her family, and to be honest she wasn't sure she would be that good company. She felt restless, out of sorts, and she rather suspected why.

'I should have refused the promotion,' Kathryn admitted to herself ruefully. Since becoming a admiral she had felt like a round peg shoved in a square hole, not fitting in. She was used to taking action, to leading from the front and it went against her nature to be behind a desk making policy.

With a soft growl Kathryn turned from the window and strode across her suite, her simple jumpsuit clinging to a well toned body. From a closet she pulled out a comfortable overcoat and went out, making her way through the halls and outside into the snow. Her simple clothes reconfigured themselves subtly to protect her from the night's cold as snow crunched beneath her boots. The streets were mostly deserted as she walked, the soft buzzing sounds of shuttles flying coming from overhead.

It took her a bit of time to get her bearings but eventually Kathryn made her way to Market Street and the coffee shop the Night Owl, one of her haunts from back in her academy days. The coffee there had carried her through many a late night, as well as probably helping her pass her finals, too.

"What'll it be?" the young woman asked as Kathryn walked up to the counter after pausing to knock most of the snow off her shoes at the door.

"Coffee, black," Kathryn ordered and the young woman soon had a steel mug out, pouring the coffee from a pot simmering on the heat.

"Here you go," she smiled, her black hair tied back in a simple ponytail.

"Slow night?" Kathryn asked as she took her first sip, the hot fluid flowing down her throat like liquid fire. As good as replicators were there was a subtle difference to real, brewed coffee and she silently resolved to invest in a coffee maker.

"Not bad," the young woman answered, her name tag reading Alysan said cheerfully, "we have the usual academy crowd."

"I see," Kathryn agreed.

While the room wasn't packed there were a fair number of men and women talking and working, bent over padds or arguing softly. They were young and intense, the trainees who one day would serve aboard Starfleet vessels or on Starbases, helping the Federation lean more and more about the universe around them.

'Just like I did,' Kathryn thought as she made her way to a seat in a corner.

Thankfully this was a Starfleet crowd, and Kathryn wasn't confronted by the sort of hero worship she had faced in the general population. In the aftermath of war and destruction the homecoming of Voyager was seized on by the people as a great event, more so than Kathryn was comfortable with. Thankfully Starfleet officers handled it all somewhat more calmly, or at least they acted like they were calm.

For nearly half a hour Kathryn luxuriated in the near silence, feeling at peace for the first time in days. No reporters were chasing her, no citizens looking for autographs, just her, a coffee and reasonably good company. Finally she heard a soft bell and looked up, only to stiffen in surprise as she saw who walked in.

Seven of Nine looked as coolly capable as ever as she swept the room with her eyes, then the casually dressed woman made her way to Kathryn's side. She wore a matching light blue top and dark slacks, her blonde hair gleaming in the light of the café. Looking at her once again Kathryn was struck by how attractive she was, yet how unaware Seven seemed to be.

"May I sit?" Seven asked as she took hold of the seat opposite Kathryn.

"Go ahead," Kathryn nodded as she quietly asked, "how did you find me?"

"You have spoken of this place before," Seven noted as she sat, "when I did not find you at your residence it seemed the most likely place to look other than Starfleet Headquarters."

Kathryn smiled wryly, "I suppose that makes sense." She looked at Seven curiously, "But why are you looking for me?"

Seven actually hesitated, looking down at the table. "Chakotay and I are no longer romantically involved," she said quietly, "I had hoped to discuss this with you."

"I'm sorry," Kathryn said and knew a piece of her was lying. Not that she wanted Seven to be unhappy, but she had always felt Chakotay wasn't the best person for her. 'Not that my own... interest is a good idea,' she thought ruefully, well aware of her own attraction to Seven.

"I am not," Seven said honestly.

Kathryn signaled for more coffee, and the server dropped off a cup for Seven too. "What would you like with it?" she asked Seven, and prepared it to the younger woman's preferences.

Seven took a drink, "Thank you."

Kathryn looked at Seven thoughtfully, trying to gage how emotionally distressed the woman was. Seven was a difficult person to read, but after several years she thought she had a good sense of her, and as far as Kathryn could tell she really wasn't too bothered by it all. "What happened?" Kathryn asked quietly.

"I think I rushed into the relationship," Seven admitted thoughtfully, "I so wanted to experience one that I convinced myself I had feelings that were not there."

"It's a mistake humans can make," Kathryn agreed after a moment, "a person can get so caught up with the momentum that they don't take the time to tell how they really feel,"

"I understand," Seven nodded as she drank her coffee, her eyes dark in thought. "But then," she put the cup down, "how can you be certain you are in love, and not merely being carried away by the rush of events?"

"I don't know," Kathryn admitted, "it's one of the hardest questions to answer." She drank some coffee, "The best suggestion I can make is just to take your time... eventually you'll be able to tell, one way or the other."

Seven set down her cup as she nodded thoughtfully, "That is borne out in my own experience so far."

The snow had slowed but not stopped, silvery flakes drifting down in the coffee shop's window. The ground was already covered, piles building up where people pushed it aside to walk, the streets self-cleaning to keep them clear for vehicles. Some teens had begun to play, making snowballs and tossing them in the light if a street lamp.

"Have you had a chance to play in the snow?" Kathryn changed the topic.

"I do not understand the point of that," Seven sniffed disdainfully as she added, "it seems a poor use of resources."

Kathryn chuckled as she finished her coffee, "So are a lot of things we humans do,"

"Actually, there are Bajorans, Humans and a Ferengi out there," Seven noted, "such foolishness seems infectious."

"Want to try playing in snow?" Kathryn offered.

Seven looked pained, "Is this another one of the experiences you want me to have?"

Kathryn smiled, imagining what Seven might look like with rosy cheeks. "Yes," she said, "I think it is."

Seven sighed, "Let me finish my coffee first."

End

Notes: I always felt the Seven/Chakotay thing was very, very forced in the final season. There was almost no foundation for her suddenly developing a interest in him, and their 'dates' seemed terribly contrived. I understand it's novel canon that they break up, but I wanted to write a fic separate from that.


End file.
